Breaks
by Satan Abraham
Summary: "Nonsense. I'm just taking a break. And eating the decorations." Gavries. Modern day AU. Rated T for language.


"I don't think that this will work," Garraty said, looking skeptically at the half-put together, half-totally destroyed Christmas tree. Tinsel, ornaments, and half-eaten candy canes laid everywhere, and, in the center of it all, McVries sat, sucking on the end of yet another candy cane. He seemed to be leaving the traditional ones whole and eating all of the weird-colored ones – the one he was currently eating was bright blue with green and pink stripes.

"Nonsense," McVries said, biting off the end of his candy cane with a sharp _crack! _"I'm just taking a break. And eating the decorations."

"Right," Garraty said, nodding slowly. "Well, it has to be better than Parker and Barkovitch's tree. Last I saw Parker was trying to strangle Barkovitch with the lights."

McVries rolled his eyes and stood up, tossing his candy cane to the side. It landed in a pile of similarly partly-eaten candy canes and a few broken ornaments. "Ours'd look better than theirs if they could actually agree on something for more than thirty seconds. Now, come on. Help me put this thing together."

"I think we're going to need a new one," Garraty pointed out. McVries looked around at the mess and grimaced.

"Yeah…" he said. "Let's just get a real one. You clean this up, I'll go get the car."

McVries practically skipped out of the room, leaving Garraty to roll his eyes and begin cleaning it up. He started with the half-eaten candy canes, popping the blue-and-green-and-pink-striped on in his mouth for a few seconds out of curiosity, then grimaced and threw it away. Why McVries liked the weird ones he'd never know.

A few minutes later, McVries bounded back up the stairs, redfaced and breathing hard. "It's cold out there," he said, grinning. "How about the skip the tree and have a snowball fight or something?"

"With two of us?" Garraty asked. McVries grinned wider and nodded.

"C'mon," he said, grabbing Garraty's hand and pulling him toward the door, ignoring Garraty's protests. "Get a coat, though. It's _freezing."_

Garraty looked at McVries and decided that it might not be the best idea to disagree with him at this point. Once McVries got an idea that he was going to do something in his head, he was going to do it, and god help whoever got in his way.

So, Garraty put on a coat and followed McVries, who shoved a pair of gloves into his hands as well. Garraty put them on without comment.

As soon as they got outside, McVries grabbed his hand and pulled him to the back. They'd been staying in Garraty's mother's house while she was away for the week and they had time off of school.

"It snowed a lot," Garraty commented. He was practically having to wade through the snow, nearly falling over to keep up with the over-excited McVries. _Reminder to not let him eat so many candy canes next time, _Garraty thought, grinning a little.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a snowball hitting him square in the face. He wiped the snow out of his eyes and saw McVries grinning at him, ready to throw another snowball. Garraty crouched down to get his own snowball and was hit again… and again… and again…

Screw it. He'd just tackle him.

Ducking more snowballs and ignoring them when they did hit him, Garraty leaped for McVries, sending him into the snow. McVries was laughing – and choking a little when he got some snow in his face – and shoved Garraty off.

They laid there for a little bit, Garraty ignoring the snow soaking into his jeans. He glanced over at McVries, admiring the still-falling snow sticking to his eyelashes and hair, smiling when McVries's tongue flicked out to lick some snow off of his upper lip before it melted.

McVries looked over then, and Garraty looked away, thankful for the fact that his face was probably already bright red from the cold to hide his blush. McVries grabbed his hand and pulled him up. They were both shivering violently.

"Let's go inside," McVries suggested, holding Garratay's hand tighter. Garraty nodded and followed McVries.

"So," Garraty said as soon as they got inside. "Are we ever going to put the tree up."

"Ah, shit," McVries muttered. He headed back to the room they shared to change, already taking off his shirt. "Let's do it later. Or we could make Baker and Abe do it. Theirs looked fantastic."

"What about Harkness and Pearson? They seem like they can actually put a tree together," Garraty asked. He saw McVries shrug once more before disappearing into the bedroom. Garraty sighed and wondered if he had time to take a shower before McVries came back and got him to make hot chocolate.

Probably not. He'd just change out of his wet jeans into something more comfortable. Maybe he'd just take off his pants. That would work.

McVries had obviously had the same idea, except he had changed his shirt as well. "Make me hot chocolate," he said, sitting down on the couch. Garraty sat down beside him and McVries put an arm around his shoulders. "Or not."

"I'm too tired to make hot chocolate," Garraty said, sinking into McVries's shoulder. McVries grabbed a blanket off of the arm of the couch – one of Garraty's own making, though their friends didn't know that – and covered the both of them up.

Winter wasn't that bad.

* * *

**this is why i don't write gavries**


End file.
